


Princess

by The_Hidden_Boots (Captain_Tomate)



Category: Asagao Academy: Normal Boots Club
Genre: An AU of sorts I suppose, And I don't know how preschool works, Asagao Personalities, I can't write kid speak, Josh-centric, Kid Fic (at the beginning), slight social anxiety
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-15
Updated: 2016-07-15
Packaged: 2018-07-23 23:26:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,446
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7484109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captain_Tomate/pseuds/The_Hidden_Boots
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Josh has always wondered if he's an important character in Nick and Paul's lives.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Princess

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first day of preschool is always the worst. Especially when you happen to be Josh Henderson; poster child for shy boys everywhere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Greetings and salutations, my beautiful readers.
> 
> This is finally finished! I've had this idea for a while, but I've never gotten to it. It seems that insomnia is a pretty good motivator for writing, since most of this chapter was written during the night. Anyways, I hope this is okay; it's my first story for Asagao Academy and I'm still work on characterizations and all that fun stuff.
> 
> Anyways, please enjoy!

Josh clung to his mother's skirt, his shorter legs struggling to keep up with her long strides. The sound of bird song mixed with the sound of children coming from the playground, creating the perfect scene for some heart-warming family movie about hope and following your dreams. Of course, Josh wasn't a character in one of those copy-and-paste movies; he was a little boy just trying to keep his eyes on the ground as he neared the pale blue building looming ahead with his mother.

Preschool was always something that scared the redheaded boy. So many kids, all crammed into one room for a majority of the day, with only one grown-up to watch over them; that was a thing of nightmares! Josh could barely go out to the little park by his home without getting stressed out by all those older kids zooming by on their scooters. All the noise was just so...scary. He was a very quiet child, after all. How did his parents expect him to keep calm when going into this...

Burying his head into the soft, lavender-scented fabric he clutched, Josh bit his lower lip. He felt his stomach churn, like he was getting sick, but he knew that the queasiness would be brushed off by his mom as nervous butterflies. Taking another calming breath, Josh tried to let himself relax. It would be fine, he tried to reason, he had survived a lot of grown-up filled parties, so he would be just fine...

They stopped walking, Josh's mother unraveling her son from her skirt and crouching to his level. She smiled gently, patting his head and straightening his shirt, "There's no reason to worry, Josh." She cooed, "Just remember what I told you: Big smile and you'll be just fine!" Josh's mom smiled, giving Josh an example to go off of.

Josh nodded, pasting a small, shaky smile onto his lips. His mom hummed in approval, standing up at her full height and leading him to the preschool's door. It was really white, blaring out from the rest of the blue building like a siren through a quiet night. Before Josh's mother even made their presence known, a middle-aged woman opened the door, a giant smile on her face. Josh felt his mother nudge him forward, but he couldn't move, feeling overwhelmed by the full-force of the noise coming from the building's other occupants: There were shrieks and screams, but also laughter and murmurs that were shared amongst friends.

Would...Would he have friends here? Or would everyone ignore him? The latter had happened before, at his old daycare center; he has just sat in the corner all day long, clutching onto his plush Princess Pear doll and watching everyone else have fun. The small backpack on Josh's back felt like it was becoming heavier, suddenly reminding him that both Princess Pear and Princess Lilly were with him. He has insisted on bringing them, but now he felt like they were something that would get him into trouble.

Kids never liked Princess Pear and Princess Lilly...At least, not when _he_ was playing with them.

"Are you okay, dear?"

Something brushed his cheeks, breaking him from his worries and making him notice the wetness covering his face. The preschool teacher was kneeling in front of him, wiping away his tears with a thumb before handing him a tissue for his nose. His mother was frowning down at him, eyes sad and worried, suddenly looking like she regretted her decision to send him here. Josh sniffled, using the tissue to wipe his nose after almost using his sleeve, and looked at her.

She sighed, once again meeting his level and pressing a kiss to his forehead. "If you want to go home, just call me and I'll be right over, okay my little Prince?" She asked.

Josh nodded, wrapping his arms around her neck in a loose hug. He knew his mother's number by heart, although it had been a long and hard process for him to remember it. As soon as he released the hug, the preschool teacher patted his shoulder, talking to his mother about something Josh didn't really want to pay attention to. His focus was brought to the doorway by a flash of brown and peach, which disappeared from Josh's sight before he could process what it was.

Before he knew it, his mother was saying her final goodbyes and giving him another forehead kiss, then he was lead inside by his new teacher—Miss Galirum—lead him into his certain doom. The room was much more colorful than the outside: All kinds of flowers in decorative pots, little laminated pictures of cartoony animals and some stray bits of student artwork, big loopy letters and numbers strung up like fairy lights around the room, a mat with rainbow checker marks all over it for story time; everything one would expect from a preschool room.

Most of the kids in the room were girls, playing dress-up or with dolls or participating in House. Josh felt a little better; girls weren't as scary to him as other boys were, so he felt more safe around them. From what he could see, the boys had all congregated outside, playing in the sandboxes or the swings or riding around on the tricycles the school provided. Josh felt himself shrink closer to his teacher's side, relishing in her reassuring warmth: She smelt like cherries and...what was that? Vanilla? Whatever it was, it instantly made Josh feel more comfortable.

"Do you want to say inside of here, Josh?" Miss Galirum asked, looking down at the boy.

Josh instantly nodded, ducking his head down in an effort to hide his face. Miss G laughed, guiding him over to a rack filled with multicolored drawers, little white-and-black tags on the front of each one reading off different names. His eyes alighted on one red drawer, tag-less and sitting on the very bottom of the shelves.

"I see that you already chose a cubby." Miss G said, making the boy jump slightly. She gave another chuckle, waving a hand towards Josh's chosen cubby. "Go on and put your stuff into there. I'll add on your name when nap time rolls around."

That received another nod, Josh not really caring whether his name was added to the cubby or not. There wasn't a very big chance that his would be taken, anyways; everyone had their own. Taking a few tentative steps forward, Josh pulled open the drawer and took his small backpack off his back. He paused for a second, staring at the Nario face staring at him from his bag. Should he take out Pear and Lilly...? He bit his lips, waving his head back and forth slightly. The other kids would make fun of him if he held them all day. Well, the boys would at least. Putting his backpack into the cubby, Josh pushed it in and turned back to Miss G.

He would be fine. Of course, Pear and Lilly had never been separated from him at one time (he usually had _one_ of them with him at all times), but it wouldn't be so bad. It was just one day...

* * *

Josh didn't make an effort to socialize.

Miss G didn't seem to mind. She just let him sit by her desk, showing him a few pictures and giving him a coloring book with some crayons when she had to answer a few emails. He tried to keep his colors inside of the thick black lines creating the image of an animal of some sort, but every picture he attempted to color perfectly was marred by a few spots of orange grass or yellow sky. Eventually, like time had decided to go into hyper drive, a little chime caught his attention, as well as the sound of his teacher standing up.

"Alright, everyone!" Miss G clapped her hands, her smile bright and eyes sparkling. "Nap time. Charlotte, could you tell all the boys to come in?"

A girl nodded as a mixture of (mostly) cheers and groans rang out. All of the girls, and some boys who had also been inside, headed over to a cabinet and opened up the doors. Numerous multicolored mats were stocked inside of it, from what Josh could see, and every kid grabbed a specific mat with Miss G's instruction. The herd of rowdy-looking boys that had been inside stormed into the room, laughing and pushing and shouting. Josh shrunk into himself; they certainly didn't _seem_ tired.

As soon as everyone had gotten their mat and laid down in some part of the room, Miss G led Josh to the cabinet and let him choose his mat (it was blue, designed with little smiley clouds) and told him to lay it out anywhere he wanted to, as well as to grab anything he needed to from his cubby. He instantly went to the fringe of the group of kids, making sure to isolate himself by the cubbies as he slowly opened his drawer and took out his backpack.

Unzipping the bag, Josh stuck a hand inside and slowly pulled out his Princess Pear doll. She helped him sleep better, since she was actually _scented_ like pears, while Princess Lilly was more of a daytime companion. Josh shuffled back to his mat after putting his backpack away, laying down and curling up with his back facing away from the other kids, making sure to hide his toy. He buried his face into Pear's orangish-yellow hair, closing his eyes with a sigh and letting sleep gnaw at him.

—

_When he opened his eyes, it was dark. Everything was covered in ink and he felt blind; he couldn't even see his hand in front of his face. Well, at least he supposed it was in front of his face; he couldn't really feel much either. Where was he? Josh squinted, trying to see even a sliver of light peeking through the dark. Absolutely nothing stuck out to him, a sudden feeling of being very, very alone hitting him straight in the stomach._

_Josh curled into himself, putting his hands on his head, shaking. He was alone...Of course, he hated noise and being crowded, but he had never_ alone-alone _before. There was always something or someone with him: His mom, either of his Princess friends, someone to make him feel safe. This was the first time he had been left completely alone. With that horrid realization, a few tears slipped from the boy's closed eyes._

_A shuffling sound filled Josh ears after a few seconds, making his eyes open in curiosity. What was that? Sniffling, Josh brought his head up and tilted it to the side. "H...Hello?" He called, pulling himself to his feet._

_More noise followed, mixing with the sound of movement; a low growl, deep breathing. Little red dots of light burst out from the dark, bathing wherever they were in a hazy glow. It looked like a cage, made of crumbling concrete floor and dirty-looking metal bars holding another slab of it. The thing with the eyes took a slinking step forward, a large black paw becoming visible. Josh swallowed, watching in terror as more of the monster showed itself: It was_ huge _, with curving yellow fangs poking out of its mouth and gigantic horns coming from its head._

_Josh took as step back, instantly regretting it once the monster crouched down on all four of its tree trunk-like legs. The boy couldn't even blink before it launched forward, mouth wide open and ready to take a bite..._

—

A shriek ripped out of Josh's throat as he rocketed up, clutching Princess Pear closer to himself. He felt someone hug him, the soothing pressure coaxing a few tears to spill from his eyes. Miss G was whispering to him, stroking his hair and rocking him back and forth. He buried his head into her shoulder and took a shallow breath. His throat hurt and his eyes were burning; he felt sick. Not the icky kind of sick, but a sick that made him...lonely.

"Do you want to call your mom, sweetie?" Miss G whispered to him, not pulling back from the hug like other people had done. Josh liked Miss G, he finally decided; he had been kind of unsure about her at first. Shaking his head, Josh finally pulled away from the embrace and wiped his own tears, feeling the slightest bit embarrassed by the tearstain he had left of his teacher's nice blouse.

"So-Sorry." He muttered, eyes looking at his hands as a light pink blush dusted his cheeks. This was the first time he had spoken all day, voice quieter than a mouse.

Miss G shook her head, grabbing a tissue from her desk and holding it up for Josh to blow his nose. "Don't be sorry, dear." She said, "I've had worse happen then a few tears. Plus, you needed someone to cry to, I understand that!" Miss G smiled, tossing the tissue into the nearby trashcan as soon as Josh was done with it. "Now, how about I get you a snack? It's a bit early and everyone isn't up yet, but some cookies and juice always made me feel better when I was your age."

"Alright." Josh bobbed his head, following his teacher when she stood up and walked over to the mini fridge behind her desk. Miss G pulled out a juice box and a small packet of cookies, handing the juice to Josh and making her way outside, weaving her way through all the other sleeping kids as her little follower did the same. Josh observed all the other kids with a curious gaze; how could they all sleep so peacefully? Hadn't his scream woken anyone up? Not that he wanted that to happen of course, but still...

His eyes landed on one boy, whose head was up and eyes staring at him. Josh stared back, drawing Princess Pear closer to his body like she would shield him. The boy had green eyes and messy brown hair that framed his pale face; his eyes were narrowed, glaring at Josh and making him feel nervous. As quickly as possible, Josh followed his teacher out into the playground area and to one of the plastic tables pushed against the building of the wall.

Josh peeked over the ledge of the windowpane, trying to spot the boy who had been awake. Everyone was laying down, asleep, and the boy was no exception; he didn't even look like he had opened an eye. Odd. Plopping back onto the bench seat, Josh watched as his teacher put the cookie package down and produced a stack of small paper plate out of seemingly nowhere. She opened up the cookies and put two on the top plate, handing it to Josh grabbing two more, putting them onto a plate and placing it on another area of the table.

Picking up one of his cookies, Josh took a tentative bite of it and watched Miss G work smoothly. Soon enough, Josh's snack was gone and all the other plates were set out, leaving the boy sitting on the bench as Miss G talked to him about something or another. After a few minutes, a small chime rang from inside the classroom. Miss G stood up and she smiled at the boy, "The other's will be waking up now. Do you want to go play out here? Everyone usually goes out during second recess."

Josh felt his throat close up, once again rendering him mute. He nodded, biting his lip at the thought of having Princess Pear out in the open. As Miss G went back into the classroom, Josh retreated to one of the farthest benches on the playground; it was underneath the smallest tree in the playground, barely shaded and kind of beat-up, but Josh felt like he could sit there in peace. It gave a very good vantage point to watch his class file out of the room.

Most of the boys seemed larger than Josh, instantly making them all-the-more nerve wrecking to him, and a few of them seemed to be the kind of kids who liked to wrestle and fry ants. Josh swallowed and tried to make himself look smaller. A little too quickly for comfort, the other kids finished up their snacks and rushed out to the playground. Luckily, they all seemed to steer away from his area...Well, for a while, at least. Josh was just beginning to feel grateful about being left alone, too...

The same boy that had stared him down was approaching him quickly, holding something in his hand. His eyes were now covered by glasses, so he no longer had a glare on his face. So, the other boy was nearsighted? That felt a little comforting, but Josh still wanted to scream when the brunette sat next to him. Silence, carefully blended with the sound of other kids, filled the air.

A hand was shoved under Josh's nose quicker than the redhead could blink. "I'm Nick Murphy." The brunette said, waggling his hand around until Josh finally gave it a tentative shake. "It's nice to meet you!"

Josh pulled his hand away after the shake ended, discreetly moving away from the other kid so that there was a small gap in between them. Nick had come a bit too close for comfort. Josh looked at his shoes, wishing that he could reach the dirt on the ground so he could scuff at it.

"Aren't you gonna give me your name?" Nick asked, tilting his head to the side and furrowing his eyebrows.

Hot shame crawled up Josh's neck, the memory of his parents' strict teachings of "proper etiquette" gnawing at him. "I-I'm Josh. Josh Henderson." Wouldn't his parents be proud of that introduction? Only one stutter, while the rest came out from his mouth smoothly. The first time he had introduced himself to a stranger, he wasn't even able to get to him name, stuck on a continuous stammer of "I."

Nick smiled, eyes sparkling mischievously behind his glasses once he caught sight of the Princess Pear plush that Josh was practically killing in a death hug. "You're going to kill her if you hold her any tighter. Here, let me see her!"

"Uh..." Josh frowned, thinking: He could just say no, he didn't want to give his toy to Nick, but then that would be rude. His mom said to _never_ be rude to someone you didn't know very well. "Alright, but be careful with her..." Handing off his doll like it was a valuable gem, Josh monitored Nick's every move, waiting for his chance to take back Princess Pear and never let her out of his grasp again. Really, though, his unease at letting another boy hold Princess Pear was slowly diminishing; it seemed that Nick knew that the doll was important to Josh, holding her gently and making sure not to let her touch the dirt-covered top of the bench.

"I've never seen a Princess Pear doll so nice before!" Nick exclaimed, finally handing the doll back to its rightful owner. "My dad says that they're destroyed as soon as they're out of the box."

"I make sure to keep her safe..." A light pink tinted Josh's cheeks. Nick's comment felt like a compliment. It was...nice. "She's my favorite toy."

Nick nodded, like he was storing away that information. "You like Nario?" He asked.

"Yeah. It's one of my favorite games!" Josh felt himself getting a bit excited. He didn't know a lot of kids who liked to talk about video games with him. An odd mix of curiosity and anxiety began to brew in his stomach when Nick leaned in, eyes shifting around for a second before finally revealing what he had kept hidden for quite a while. It was a small, silver device, shaped like a rectangle and smooth around the edges. Josh's eyes widened as he recognized it. A 4DS.

"Cool, isn't it?" Nick chuckled, opening up his game console and turning it on. Josh watched as a few icons popped onto the screen, the first one having the face of Nario pasted onto it. "I just got Nario Festival, wanna play?" Nick pushed his console forward after pressing on the game, waiting expectantly for Josh to take it.

Taking it with a small mutter of "thanks," Josh pressed Start Game. All of the colors distracted him from how close Nick had gotten to watch and Josh smiled despite himself.

Maybe preschool wouldn't be so bad after all...


End file.
